The Folly of Wealth and Worrying
[Luke chapter 12, verses 13-34]
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Last
week when we concluded our study of part 1 of Luke chapter 12, Jesus
had just finished stating that when any of his followers are brought
before the ruling authorities for their faith, the Holy Spirit will
prompt them what to say and how to say it. Since Jesus' ministry was
still ongoing at this time, he was prophesying about the early 1st
century church and the persecution they would endure. As you can see
from reading the text, the apostles and the others all around them
did not understand what Jesus meant because he was talking about the
future. But just then, an unidentified man speaks up and makes a
request to our Lord and Savior, and we'll begin our study right there
beginning at verse thirteen.
“Someone
in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide my
inheritance with me.' Jesus replied, 'Man, who appointed me a judge
or an arbiter between you?' Then he said to them, 'Watch out! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist
of the abundance of his possessions.' And he told them this parable:
'The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to
himself, 'what should I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then
he said, 'This is what I'll do; I'll tear down my old barns and build
bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And
I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many
years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him,
'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then
who will get what you have prepared for yourself'? This is how it
will be for anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich
toward God.'” (Luke 12, verses 13-21)
Jesus
had nothing to do with earthly matters such as civil disputes like
the one mentioned in verses 13-15, and our Lord and Kinsman Redeemer
wasn't the least bit shy about letting anybody know about it. Jesus
called the man's request exactly what it was – greed! He then used
that as a teaching moment when he said to them all, “'Watch
out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does
not consist of the abundance of his possessions.'”
Notice how our Lord didn't care about whether he offended the man or
not. The truth, no matter how painful it can sometimes seem to us,
reigns paramount when Jesus takes charge. And why shouldn't he take
charge? He's the Son of the living God, so calling out evil in any of
its forms is not only his job, it's his calling too! His teaching
subject here is greed and materialistic people, and why they're both
morally wrong. He then cites an example of what he means.
The
“Parable of the Rich Fool”, as the Bible calls it, is a lesson on
establishing proper priorities in our lives. Notice the parable Jesus
told the apostles and the crowd around them, and how the wealthy old
fool's perfect human logic was his Spiritual undoing. As Jesus
relates this little story of his, a certain farmer who had had a
large bumper crop had been blessed with so much he didn't know what
to do with it all. So he makes a wrong choice by building bigger
barns, assuming he will have a long and prosperous life thanks to his
success. He does things his way without bothering to consult the Lord
in prayer about it as he should have. This farmer should have sold
off as much of the excess as he could and given a generous portion to
the poor and needy before storing the remainder. Instead, he thought
of only himself, and he then dies in his sleep on the very night his
new barns are completed. How pathetic! This, my dear readers, is the
folly of being materialistic for one thing, and it also shows how
making assumptions can back fire on anybody in the worst possible
way, and always at the worst possible moment, when it comes to our
relationship with God through Christ!
“But
God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be
demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for
yourself'? This is how it will be for anyone who stores up things for
himself, but is not rich toward God.”
Death often comes without warning, very suddenly. It is therefore
imperative that we live our lives as if each day will be our last.
Reject materialism! Despise the pursuit of wealth and goods for their
own sake, and call out those who love these things! Make a stand
against greed in all its forms and those who promote it as if greed
were some kind of virtue. You know; like large multinational
corporations and governments? Place your faith only in the blood of
Jesus, which was shed on a cross for you and I. It's the only thing
that lasts, and it's the only thing that doesn't get left behind when
we die. Even when the blood of Jesus is all we have, the blood of
Jesus is all we need. And now let's move on to the 2nd
part of our study, beginning at verse 22.
“Jesus
then said to his disciples, 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what will you wear.
Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the
ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet
God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of
you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot
do this very thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the
lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even
Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is
how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you,
oh you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will
eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after
such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his
kingdom, and these things will be added to you as well.” Luke 12,
verses 22-31)
“....do
not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body,
what will you wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than
clothes.”
Does this mean it's a sin to worry? While a certain level of concern
for our safety and well being is normal, Jesus was talking about
those who worry excessively or compulsively about money and material
goods, not to mention investments and debts of all kinds. If any of
those who have a lot of investments, for example, worries constantly
about them or spends their days stressing out over a bunch of money
that we will leave behind when we die anyway, then all their worrying
is pointless, to put it simply. “Who
of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life? Since you
cannot do this very thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
There's more to our lives than our money, our houses and everything
in them, or our cars and other possessions, not to mention our
careers. Our relationship with Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives
should always have the highest priority. Everything else comes
second, including our careers and our spouses.
“Consider
how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not
even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today,
and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe
you, oh you of little faith!”
Quit worrying about your clothes, especially concerning whether they
are in style or not! If you need clothes but can't afford them, try
buying at least some of them from thrift stores. If that offends
anyone, they have too much pride and those individuals need to
correct that, whomever they may be. Pride gets in the way of our
relationship with Christ, and if pride is in the way then our faith
has become compromised. It won't cost us our salvation unless pride
gets completely out of hand, but our walk with Jesus throughout out
lives will be more distant and Spiritually diminished. Who wants
that!
“And
do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry
about it. For the pagan world runs after such things, and your father
knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will
be added to you as well.”
Quit worrying about all that stuff, it's a waste of time! If we all
had sufficient faith, we would already know that our needs will be
provided for in advance. It's not our job to know exactly how this
will take place, so stop worrying about that, we can't control it
anyway! You can be absolutely sure about this – the Lord God
Almighty will supply all your needs, and his timing is always
perfect! But this does not necessarily mean we will get everything we
ask for, but if our requests and prayers are in line with God's will
for our lives, we will receive all we need. Not always everything we
want, mind you, but we will get all our needs met, and that includes
the state of our stomachs as well as the state of our wardrobes. And
now let's have a look at the last part of our study, starting at
verse 32.
“Do
not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to
bring you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in
heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and
where no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, your heart will
be also.” Luke 12, verses 32-34)
“Seek
His kingdom,” Jesus had just said, followed by an encouragement,
since seeking God directly was unheard of until our Lord and Savior
came along. 'Don't be afraid to approach God', Jesus was telling
them, 'because he will be happier to see you than you can possibly
imagine'. But what did Jesus mean by “little flock”? Was he
comparing the crowd around him to farm animals? Not at all! This was
a reference to the 23rd
Psalm (“he leads me to green pastures, besides still waters”,
and, “his rod and his staff comfort me”), but he apparently left
its interpretation up to his apostles and the crowd of listeners and
followers who were gathered around him. But then he said something
whose interpretation is abundantly clear. “Sell
your possessions and give to the poor.”
Of course, today we have charities large and small that will gladly
take our donations, but this was not the case in Jesus' time.
Unneeded items were either given away to someone the owner knew or
they were thrown out. The whole idea of giving to complete strangers
was not all that popular up until the time of Christ. Today, with so
many people in serious economic distress, all of us need to step up
our efforts to care for those less fortunate than ourselves.
“Provide
purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven
that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and where no
moth destroys.” If anyone wants to store up treasure for
themselves, stash it all in heaven where no one can get to it. Don't
worry about that, either – God lives there, and there's a multitude
of angels guarding all that treasure that people like ourselves have
been storing and will continue to store up for the rest of our lives
and all eternity. As before, none of us has any reason to be fearful
about our stuff, our homes or apartments and everything in them, or
about transportation or even whether you own a car or not
(personally, I don't own one). God is still seated on his throne, and
he's not going anywhere – forever!! Moreover, Jesus is there
waiting for us, for all who call upon his name, and the only time he
will leave that place is when he comes to take us home – all of us
who worship him in Spirit and in Truth. So let's anticipate this day,
which is coming soon, and which will arrive at an unexpected time.
Therefore let's make ourselves ready to be received by Him. At that
moment is when we'll all know it was worth the wait! And next week
we'll move on to part 3 of Luke chapter 12.
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